day 19: something orange

okay, so the whole thing is not orange, but it's got orange parts so i'm counting it.  now you might think this folder is all fun and silliness on the outside but on the inside it's all business.  in fact, without the contents of this funny little folder i would very likely get kicked out of the country.  yep.  that's what we call serious.

day 18: your shoes

the rainy season is a-coming!

5 in 1

well, life has been slightly busy here in zambia, but have no fear.  today we're playing make-up... again. 

day 13:  yourself with 13 things... i absolutely love the smell of colored pencils and these babies are some of the best.  love my prisma colors!

day 14: eyes... ah, my boys.  hehe.  so you can't necessarily tell here, but ngosa (r) is seriously one of the best lookin' kids around.  no lie.  oh if i were 15 years younger (eek!  that statement made me sound old... and creepy)

day 15: silhouette... ok so not super creative or grandiose but if gets the job done.  me in front of my window

day 16: long exposure... ok so these aren't great either but i kind of like them cause i look like a ghost... not sure why that makes me like them... but it does. 

ok, and this one just makes me laugh.  i call it the "floating excessively happy head"

day 17: technology... this one i call "living sacrificially for the sake of orphans"  well, either that or "good grief, are we seriously that american"

and there you have it.  happy tuesday, everyone!  
now i got to get back to my video games... ahem... i mean work.

day 12: a sunset

a few weeks back we went to an old boating club... one built back in the day when england was settled throughout zambia.  this place is super cool.  


as i looked around at the old buildings, pool, and exercise equipment i could just picture the grounds scattered with british gentlemen and ladies strolling about in period swimsuits or dresses and hats... or rowing out through crocodile invested waters (yep... for real).  


suddenly i felt like i was in the middle of an agatha christie novel.  needless to say was pretty content.

washed in the (blue) water

ok so the water might not have been blue per say, but close enough.  this sunday i experienced my first zambian baptism.  what a sweet experience to see some of our boys at lifesong school make an open commitment to follow Christ.  it made me cry.


we invited some of the boys' school friends to come along and after church had a celebration of yummy food and made-from-scratch cake (thank you, mitz!).  a very good (long) and powerful day.  thank you, Jesus!


so to complete challenge number eleven here's to a very special "something blue"


loaded up to head to the river:

waiting for the baptisms to start:

 number 1:

hugs from his "foster momma"(such a big day for nicodemus and rosemary... their oldest son and 2 "foster sons" taking the plunge)

number 2:

number 3:

i love this father-son moment:

they threw flowers on the heads of the newly baptized.  it was cool.  kind of like a wedding.

if you want to see a video of the day, go to mitzi's blog HERE.

days 8-10: playing catch up

so i've been gone the last couple days to lusaka, where we bought a couple necessities (and a few non necessities) and picked up mr. luke (as the kiddos call him) who (happy me!) brought with him a sweet bag full of goodies from my dearest mother for yours truly.

since i haven't been able to contribute to tami's photo challenge, i'm playing catch up and posting all three challenges here.

day 8  a bad habit:  

unpacking... or the lacking to do so.  i have a tendency to not pack for about 2-4 weeks after i get home from a given place.  don't worry.  this mess was promptly moved when it was time to go to bed... to the floor.  yup it's that bad.

day 9  someone you love:  


in the bag of goodies from my mother (whom i also love!) i found this letter from her mother, my grandma b.  so sweet.  grandma b is quite the woman, let me tell you.  she had her own dress shop back in the day (and ran it quite successfully) and raised a pretty stellar family to boot.  she is a woman of supremo class and integrity.  and she's fashionable too!


i have terribly fond memories of holidays and sleepovers at her house... her cedar chest full of dress-up clothes, her basement store room full of old dress shop (turned play) items and toys, her archie comics, her house's wonderful smell, and her book reading before bedtime.  


she is an example of a strong, Godly woman and has the kind of spunk that is required in a true kindred spirit.  her last words to me before i left for africa were


"hold close to God and He will hold close to you!"


i love you grandma b and am so proud to be called your granddaughter.  

day 10  childhood memory:

something else super sweet that was found in my bag of goodies... psalty cds!!!   i used to love sitting on our living room floor listening to these on record.  yep, that's right.  record.  i would study over the back cover picture of all the lucky kids who got to sing with psalty and dreamed of someday being one of them.  sadly they don't make new psaltys anymore.  oh well, i enjoy the memories, anyway.

day 7: fruit (red is for strawberries)

so i live on a farm here in zambia... but not just any farm, my friends.  i live on a strawberry farm. oh yeah.  that means i can have strawberries whenever i want... that is when the workers don't strip the plants dry to sell them... blast.


here's my little roomies being crazy in the field:

and this... well, this is my dear friend, liness:

(that's "lee-nus" if your me and "ly-nus" if your everyone else at school) i adore this girl.


the other day i asked her why everyone calls her 'ly-nus' and she calls herself 'lee-nus'.  she got all shy and smiled.  she said her family named her 'lee-nus' but everyone at school calls her 'ly-nus' because it's a more common name.  i asked her what she wanted to be called.  she said she wants everyone at school to call her 'ly-nus'.  


i said "so do you like keeping your name special by having only your family call you by it?"  


she said, "yes.  but i want you to call my 'lee-nus'"


so apparently i'm officially in.  saweet (like strawberries)!